Radar shows final moments of LAMIA Bolivia Flight LMI2933 which crashed carrying a Brazilian football team

Authorities struggled to save six survivors from the crash site near La Ceja, but one died later in hospital.

Police confirmed the shocking death toll after hours of mixed reports suggested there had been dozens of survivors on the flight, which was filled with players and coaches from top-teir side Chapecoense Real.

The Brazilian First Division team, who had been described by coach Caio Júnior as "Brazil's Leicester", was on its way to the final of the Copa Sudamericana in Colombia — a game tipped as the biggest in its history.

The club issued a statement shortly after the tragedy, saying: "May God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation."

Among the victims is Paulo Julio Clement, a Fox Sports presenter in Brazil and one of 21 journalists killed in the disaster.

It was travelling to José María Córdova International Airport in Rionegro, the second largest airport in Colombia.

A statement from the airport said the plane declared an emergency and "electrical failures" after leaving Bolivia, although a cause of the crash is yet to be established.

The 'hero' pilot is reported to have opened the fuel door as the plane crashed to prevent it from going up in flames.

However, a flight attendant has allegedly claimed the plane ran out of fuel, providing another avenue for investigators.

Who was on board Flight LMI2933?

THE pilots and cabin crew on board the plane were all Bolivian.

Most of the 72 passengers were Brazilian.

Around 40 were part of the Chapecoense delegation.

They included 20 players, the manager Caio Junior and four other members of his coaching team including an assistant manager, a personal trainer, a kinesiologist and a masseur who is said to be among the survivors.

The club’s president and vice-president were also on board along with other club managers.

They were due to compete against Atlético Nacional at 6:45pm local time on Wednesday at Atanasio Girardot stadium in Medellín.

The team were only about five minutes from their destination when they crashed.

Local radio said the team were due to stay at the four-star Hotel San Fernando, an elegant hotel near Medellin’s Botanical Garden.

South American football confederation CONMEBOL has suspended the tournament.

What do we know about the British Aerospace 146 plane?

The British Aerospace 146 plane that crashed on its approach to the airport in the Colombian city of Medellin made its first flight on March 1999.

Statistics from planespotters.net show that the regional plane has had several owners since.
From 1999 to 2007, it was owned by Mesaba Aviation in the U.S. before it was transferred.
The plane has been in the hands of Bolivian airline LAMIA since October 2013.
British Aerospace, which is now known as BAE Systems, says that the first 146 plane took off in 1981 and that just under 400 (including its successor Avro RJ) were built in total in the U.K through November 2003.
It says around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services.

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